Pride Month: Resources and interesting news
During the month of June, The Retail Bulletin team will be highlighting resources, stories and topics of interest around Pride month 2023.
Today marks the start of Pride month, a time to engage with the LGBTQ+ community and progress LGBTQ+ inclusion goals in your organisation (and everyday life).
It’s important to start out by highlighting that this a time for a lot more than pride flags and rainbows, this is about working towards inclusion 365 days a year, doing your part to make sure LGBTQ+ people feel welcome, safe and thrive.
Pride Month is about acceptance, equality and celebrating the work and identities of LGBTQ+ people and is an opportunity to raise awareness about LGBTQ+ history, the struggle for equality and educate the general public about related topics.
Why June?
The reason why Pride Month is in June is that it marks the police raid that prompted the Stonewall riots – which in turn led to the establishment of LGBTQ+ rights. The raid took place during the early morning on June 28, 1969, at the Stonewall Inn in Greenwich Village, Manhattan.
The Retail Trust
The Retail Trust are a trade charity setup for the 4.5 million people working in retail and the supporting service industries. They work to improve lives through wellbeing services, vocational and career development programmes, and supported living estates. The Retail Trust have a lot of useful tools and tips to improve inclusivity in your workplace, as well as how to become a great ally and ways to bolster resilience. Find out more.
Diversity in Retail
To celebrate Pride month, Diversity in Retail we will be hosting a webinar which will provide practical guidance on how to ensure your workplace policies are inclusive of LGBTQ+ parents and families, and how to support colleagues on fertility and adoption journeys.
? – 13th June 2023 12pm – 1pm BST – Find out more.
Matalan
Fashion and homeware retailer Matalan have been working hard on shaping a colleague campaign for Pride and are “really excited that launch day has arrived!”. In a statement on LinkedIn, the retailer said that “Pride month for us is about celebrating our LGBTQ+ colleagues, as well as making sure we continue to educate ourselves on how we can make things better for all.” The retailer has released a video with CEO, Jo Whitfield to kick things off.
Irwin Mitchell
Law firm Irwin Mitchell have put together a guide to help managers understand the law and feel more comfortable tackling transgender issues that might arise in their workplaces. It discusses the legal framework, gender reassignment certificates, the types of harassment trans people may encounter at work and how to deal with employees who have different but equally protected beliefs. The guide is available here.
